What Are Little Things?
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Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLlah wa barakaatuh.
Trust that you're good, striving and thriving.
I have caught myself saying I am grateful for the little things a number of times , so today I am asking myself What are these little things ooo? What does that even mean?
The thought has been bouncing in my head for months and yesterday it became so strong, that I decided to write this piece and get to the bottom of this phrase that is giving ingratitude. I stumbled on an article from a young lady who is dealing with long covid yesterday, and it was exactly what I needed to get rid of this phrase forever.
That piece was so emotional and my heart ached as I read her experience of dealing with a virus that has been long forgotten by many. The article shed light on the many things I take for granted and how ‘the little things’ is a phrase that I must never utter. It simply does not exist, EVERYTHING ALLAH has give me is a BIG DEAL.
You see, life has become so tough for the young lady that even showering is a nightmare! Same with walking, thinking, talking and even eating. She goes through so much pain with every activity that she has settled for cutting down or avoiding most of them. It so bad that things like showering can only be done once a week. As for walks in the park and playtime with her kid, they have become a thing of the past , only to be done with a lot of preparation and sacrifice. Hospital trips have become more dangerous than healing and she is living in a world that is as painful as it gets. It was sad to read the piece and it just made me think of how I really must have a lot of guts to think that ‘walking down to the estate playground is a little thing to be grateful for’ or even being able to have a bath myself is so small that it does not deserve a feature on my gratitude list. Her situation made me think of things that Allah has given me that I forgot to be grateful for and the things that I did not ask for, that He gave me regardless.
How did I get to a point where the big shiny things were the ones deserving of resounding Alhamdulilahis!
How many times have I been grateful for water?
How many times have I been grateful for my fingers?
How many times have I been grateful for my memory?
How many times have I been grateful for a bed?
How many times have I been grateful that I can walk on my own with no assistance?
How much gratitude have I shown for being able to sit up straight?
How many times have I been grateful that I can think?
The intention I am setting today, today( read this with a Nigerian accent to get the best effect) is to really reflect on every single one of my blessings, thank Allah over and over again, never take them for granted and use them in a way that is most pleasing to Him.
There is nothing like the little things because if Allah takes them away, then I will realize how HUGE they really are.
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ١٨
If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to number them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Reflection Of The Week
"If you tried to count God’s blessings, you could never take them all in: He is truly most forgiving and most merciful." [Qur'an, 16:18] Half of the month has gone. If we find that our hearts are still hard, one way to soften them is by reflecting deeply on the above verse. It is very easy to take everything we have for granted. It also easier to focus all of our emotional energy on the things we don't have or the things that are going wrong. But if we were all to engage in a two-minute exercise where we just sit down in solitude - just us and Allah - and start to remember everything we can consider as blessings, such as all the times Allah gave us what we asked for; all the things God gave us without us asking; and the things we thought were bad but actually taught us much... We will come to a number of realizations: That truly Allah has always been with us, even when we thought He had forgotten us. - J Yousef
At the start of Chapter 2 and loving it! When Hearing Becomes Listening by Sh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith is that book that we all need in our libraries to make the most of the beautiful quality of listening that Allah has given us. I will like to share a few of my highlights from Chapter one and hope that you will also find them beneficial.
Listening is the foundation of connection , It is the most essential element of all relationships, When Allah reminds us about this beautiful name of His (Al Sami) we are all inspired to call upon Him and trust that He hears. But we are also reminded that, if we wish to take our full share from the name, we must also become good listeners. Our ability to be considered to be a friend of Allah depends on our capacity to understand that Allah is always listening to us and to listen to others.
Then another one I LOVE on the importance of listening:
By listening we can help the creation of Allah push through the hardships they experience in life. By listening we can help people reach their full potential. By listening we can cool the fires of anxiety and trauma that people have been thrown into. By learning to listen we will give hope to those who have been told that what they hope for is impossible.
There are so many gems in this book and I just got started! May Allah make us of those who listen deeply with an intention to do that which is most pleasing to Him.
Rajab challenge
I literally begged some of my sisters to plug me into this Barakah today and give me the info of this amazing Istighfar challenge they are doing with Ribaat. It is pretty easy to follow and I am happy to share the Barakah with you too! May Alllah bless my Chief motivators A and R! It is a great way to purify our hearts and get rid of the dust and dirt before Ramadan. It has started but you can still join! Trust me you can do this.
Download the Rabata Ibadah App and enter istighfar counts in the Global Collection.
Till Next Week, Insha Allah
We leave you in Allah’s care,
One of us at Ibadahplug